Positive Affirmations for Change

Affirmations are a common personal development tool, but they may also be one of the least successful because most individuals aren't taught how to utilize them correctly. One of the most popular misunderstandings regarding affirmations is that they are "magical incantations" that may change your life. Do you want to make more money? Recite an affirmation to yourself that you are a billionaire and that you are affluent.

The True Meaning of an Affirmation

Affirmations, believe it or not, have no ability to influence anything in your life. Affirmations, as I previously stated, are not magical incantations, and you may be startled to hear that the aim of an affirmation is NOT to influence anything outside of yourself.

Yes, the ultimate aim is to improve your circumstances in one or more aspects of your life, but it isn't the first step. The genuine objective of an affirmation, on the other hand, is to modify the way you FEEL about a certain issue. When you have a different emotional reaction to something, you begin to think and believe differently about it. And when you think, feel, and believe differently, you will take different behaviors, resulting in various outcomes.

Many people don't grasp the importance of this concept, so they create affirmations that focus more on their outer conditions rather than how they feel. As a result, they don't change their beliefs, their actions don't change, and their circumstances don't change either. With this in mind, think back to those example affirmations I just shared. Do those make you feel differently about money, health or relationships? More likely, you don't feel much of anything at all when you read them. That's because they don't get to the heart of what you really want, which is to FEEL differently about that aspect of your life.

Spend a moment right now to jot down a few essential words that describe how you want to feel about the major aspects of your life:

Health and well-being

Spirituality

Relationships

Money

Career

Overall quality of life

Do you desire more peace, happiness, stability, independence, fun, passion, ease, or significance in your life? What would you create if you could manufacture whatever you wanted in these fields? What is most important to you? Which of your unwanted behaviors and qualities do you wish to eliminate?

Making Powerful Affirmations

Now that you have a clearer understanding of your life goals, it's time to investigate what makes an affirmation successful. Consider the following affirmation and how it makes you feel:

My objectives are readily and rapidly attained.

Do you desire more peace, happiness, stability, independence, fun, passion, ease, or significance in your life? What would you create if you could manufacture whatever you wanted in these fields? What is most important to you? Which of your unwanted behaviors and qualities do you wish to eliminate?

If you're like most individuals, you're undoubtedly resistant to that assertion. Most of us do not reach our objectives easily or fast; instead, it is a long, arduous path to achievement. Even if you didn't feel opposition to the affirmation, you could have felt distant or emotionless when you read it, as if it had no significance for you.

Do you desire more peace, happiness, stability, independence, fun, passion, ease, or significance in your life? What would you create if you could manufacture whatever you wanted in these fields? What is most important to you? Which of your unwanted behaviors and qualities do you wish to eliminate?

Do you think this is a successful affirmation based on what we've learned so far? Perhaps if a person had prior experience with completing goals swiftly and effortlessly, they would be receptive to such an affirmation; nonetheless, the majority of "ordinary" individuals would say no. Consider this alternate phrase:

I am capable of attaining my objectives swiftly and effortlessly.

Doesn't that one feel a bit better? You are not claiming that you always attain your objectives simply and swiftly, but you are stating that you are capable of doing so. This affirmation may feel a bit better, but it still has room for improvement.

I am keen to reach my objectives swiftly and simply.

That one seems better; it's a little more cheery and inspirational, don't you think? Maybe it even gives you a glimmer of optimism that you may attain your goals swiftly and easily? What about this:

I am prepared to reach my objectives swiftly and simply.

One thing to notice about these instances is that all I'm doing is injecting emotionally charged phrases into the original affirmation! Capable, eager, ready... they are merely emotional triggers that make you feel better about your goals.

Do you believe that feeling better about your goals will increase your drive and determination? Do you believe that being eager to go forward will encourage more concentrated activity and perseverance over time? Absolutely!

Remember that the ultimate power of an affirmation is in changing your feelings, forming healthier beliefs, and taking more productive activities. In our samples, you can see how this works.

Following that, we'll go through the specific procedures you should take when creating your own strong affirmations:

Step One: Determine Your Goal

To begin, you must be extremely clear about what you desire. The inner aim of how you want to FEEL, not the exterior goal. Concentrate on the essence of the desired sensation. For instance, you could desire to feel confident, powerful, empowered, joyful, elevated, liberated, inspired, loved, proud, and secure.

If you were making an affirmation to help you lose weight, you would most likely want to feel proud of your body, light, cheerful, confident, or craving-free. Ideally, you should concentrate on only ONE essence per affirmation rather than attempting to fit a variety of aims into one.

Assume your primary objective is to overcome thoughts of self-loathing and begin to like your physique. You want to achieve self-acceptance. You may call it anything you want, but it all boils down to accepting your body rather than rejecting it.

Step 2: Lay the Groundwork

Create the fundamental affirmation, which is essentially the new "truth" that you want to feel. Using the weight reduction example from earlier, your new affirmation may be:

I adore and embrace my physique entirely.

But keep in mind that if you don't feel good about your body, that remark will elicit strong feelings of resistance, disbelief, and even even rage. You just will not accept that since it IS NOT true (yet). That's OK; we're simply establishing the groundwork before moving on to the next phase.

Step 3: Smooth Rough Edges

Right now, your affirmation does not feel good to you; it just evokes negative thoughts and sensations while doing nothing to change your views about your body. However, there are several methods to "soften" it and make it feel better. For instance, add the word "choice."

I chose to embrace and love my body.

Didn't adding that small word help? However, even in its modified form, some people may trouble with the affirmation. Consider adding "okay":

It is OK for me to love and embrace my body.

That one is superior! You're not stating you love and embrace your body; only that it's alright to do so. Even if we're taking a detour to get there, you may still have a greater feeling of acceptance for your body, right?

Do you think you'd feel more accepting of your body if you said this affirmation on a daily basis for a few days? Most likely!

Another technique to smooth down the rough edges is to inject some "will":

I'm ready to love and embrace my body.

If it is still too improbable, you might add "learn":

I am eager to learn to appreciate and embrace my body. (or)

I'm learning to appreciate and embrace my physique.

Softening the edges simply means using more relaxed wording so that you can believe in the notion more easily. Most of the time, this is a temporary remedy since you will be able to go up to the stronger version after reciting the softer version for a few days to a few weeks.

Starting with "It's good to love and accept my body," for example, might quickly evolve to "I choose to love and accept my body," and then to "I absolutely love and embrace my body." This is an efficient technique to gradually enhance your thoughts and sentiments on any issue.

Finally, use Affirmations with Caution.

Affirmations are sometimes referred to as "power tools" since they have the ability to impact your life in ways that few other development approaches can. However, like with any power tools, they must be handled appropriately to achieve the desired outcome. If you use them poorly, you may wind up with consequences that you did not plan or desire - or, worse, results that irritate you more than your initial circumstances did.

One of the best things about affirmations is that they can be readily customized to match your specific goals. If the examples in this tutorial do not connect with you, continue to adjust them until they do.

Remember that an affirmation's genuine strength rests in how it makes you feel. When you utter an affirmation, you should feel yourself leaning in a good way, even if it's a tiny movement.

Even better, your ability to use affirmations successfully will improve as you practice with them more. You'll be able to "feel" when an affirmation is appropriate for you, and keeping your affirmations focused in this way will allow you to invest less effort while still achieving tremendous results.

Indeed, your affirmations will develop and change alongside you. The more you focus on your personal and professional development and acquire mastery over your self-talk, the less you will need to use the "stepping-up" strategy discussed at the beginning of this article. Simply said, you will not feel the need to "soften" your affirmations in order to make them more credible. Instead, you will simply maintain an open mind to huge ambitions and think that they are within your reach.

As your original affirmations begin to manifest, keep extending them to be larger and greater! Don't settle for "okay" outcomes; instead, strive for GREAT success in all aspects of your life. Make a big list of everything you want to do, and then gradually and methodically modify your thinking about those aspects of your life.

As you modify your ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors for the better, your living circumstances must also improve. When you realize the dependability of this technique, you should feel incredibly encouraged and inspired since it indicates that almost anything is possible for you.

Every objective is accomplished in the same manner; step by step.